{"id":32347,"date":"2020-06-05T17:05:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-05T21:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dirtcar.com\/?p=32347"},"modified":"2020-06-05T17:39:13","modified_gmt":"2020-06-05T21:39:13","slug":"domination-nation-streaking-schlenk-finds-hot-2020-start-aboard-new-chassis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dirtcar.com\/divisions\/late-models\/domination-nation-streaking-schlenk-finds-hot-2020-start-aboard-new-chassis\/","title":{"rendered":"DOMINATION NATION: Streaking Schlenk Finds Hot 2020 Start Aboard New Chassis"},"content":{"rendered":"

CONCORD, NC \u2013 June 5, 2020 \u2013\u00a0For something he designed with his crew chief in a pole barn behind his house, Rusty Schlenk sure has been making a statement with the newly designed Domination Race Car lately.<\/p>\n

Three racetracks visited over the last three weekends; three trips to DIRTcar Victory Lane.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese cars, by far, are the best cars I\u2019ve ever sat in. They steer better than anything, they traction-up better than anything,\u201d Schlenk said. \u201cI\u2019m excited for what it\u2019s got to bring. I think we\u2019ve got a car developed where anybody can jump in it and go fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

For several years, the Ohioan piloted the Midwestern favorite Rayburn Race Cars chassis to 40+ Feature wins in DIRTcar competition and was awarded the 2017 and 2018 DIRTcar Late Model national points championship titles, using the tips and tricks he was given from famed chassis builder CJ Rayburn.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Schlenk (1) racing side-by-side with Chase Junghans (18) at Brownstown Speedway in the 2019 DIRTcar Summer Nationals \u2013 Rick Neff Photo<\/p><\/div>\n

Two national titles, an overcrowded trophy cabinet and tens of thousands of dollars in winnings earned for the 33-year-old during that span in Rayburn cars is a lot more than a lot of drivers can say they\u2019ve won in their entire careers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d say [2018] was probably the best year we\u2019ve had on record, for sure,\u201d Schlenk said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never really felt confident going into the Summer Nationals that we actually had a shot to win the title. I just go into it with goals of finishing it and maybe running top-five, top-three in points. But honestly, this year I feel like we\u2019ve got a car good enough to win the deal if we\u2019ve got some luck on our side.\u201d<\/p>\n

But soon, Rayburn decided to call it a career himself. Fortunately, Schlenk had already been hard at work preparing to design and fabricate a chassis style of his own that took elements from the Rayburn he already had so much success with.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been in the Rayburn deal for the last three years. I knew things were kinda getting slow for [CJ]. He didn\u2019t really have any workers around there, wasn\u2019t really selling many racecars. He\u2019s 80 years old,\u201d Schlenk said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had actually been piddling around with building my own car a few months before CJ announced that he was quitting. I was just trying to get things in place because I knew it wasn\u2019t going to be long. When I heard that he pulled the plug and wasn\u2019t going to do it anymore, he tried to get me to come down and take the place over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Schlenk at Jacksonville Speedway in the 2019 DIRTcar Summer Nationals (Rick Neff Photo)<\/p><\/div>\n

In the end, Schlenk turned down Rayburn\u2019s offer. It\u2019s three-plus hour drive from Schlenk\u2019s home in McClure, OH, to Rayburn\u2019s race shop in Whiteland, IN, and the logistics just weren\u2019t going to be practical. So, he went ahead and pulled the trigger on founding Domination Race Cars.<\/p>\n

\u201cI finally decided just to do it myself when he quit. It was either that or completely start over and go with a different brand, and we just didn\u2019t have the money to do that. So, I just developed my own deal,\u201d Schlenk said.<\/p>\n

The first car made its debut last year at Duck River Raceway Park\u2019s Deep Fried Fall Brawl<\/em>. Schlenk strapped a Chevy Performance 604 Crate engine in the car and put a hurting on the field, lapping most of the 17-car roster before the checkered flag waved. In Qualifying, Schlenk said his fast lap in the Crate car was quicker than his best time in his Super Late Model.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was definitely not expecting it to be that good out of the gate. I knew we had a good piece; I knew we built a good car and I was confident in it. But when you build something from scratch out of your pole barn, you don\u2019t expect it to go out there and kick everybody\u2019s ass the first night,\u201d Schlenk said with a laugh.<\/p>\n

In the weeks that followed, Schlenk and the new car went on to find even more success in the national DIRTcar ranks, setting fast time at Cochran Motor Speedway, starting on the front row in the Arizona Sport Shirts Gateway Dirt Nationals finale and even leading some laps in the race before internal mechanical failures sidelined him before the finish.<\/p>\n

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic this year, he and the rest of the DIRTcar Late Model community have found limited places to race, which means they\u2019ve had to get creative in finding tracks to race on. Schlenk\u2019s been all over the map in the last few weeks, scoring wins in Super Late Model action at Merritt Speedway, Clarksville Speedway and Oakshade Raceway.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything\u2019s so up in the air right now, at this point, we\u2019re just trying to find a place to race,\u201d Schlenk said. \u201cRight now, we\u2019re just trying to find some decent races that are close to home to try and make a little bit of cash.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Schlenk (1) racing side-by-side with Gregg Satterlee (22) at Oakshade Raceway in the 2019 DIRTcar Summer Nationals (Terry Page Photo)<\/p><\/div>\n

Domination might only have a small following right now, compared to that of the long-standing, tried-and-true makes like Rocket, Longhorn and Capital. But Schlenk\u2019s been keeping busy at the shop since the government-mandated lockdowns began in March, selling Domination cars to seven different drivers around the Upper Midwest region. Cody Bauer even took his to Merritt Speedway Victory Lane last weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of local weekend warriors out there that I\u2019m trying to cater to,\u201d Schlenk said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to keep the cost down on these racecars and give the local guy something that they can feel comfortable, no matter what their driving style is, to jump in it and feel comfortable and not have to completely re-learn how to drive. I think we\u2019ve succeeded so far.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schlenk said he\u2019s always been a big proponent of the swing-arm suspension he ran for several years in his Rayburn cars. It took approximately four years for him to perfect his chassis and suspension design for the Domination build, but the work he put in was all worth it in the end.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a lot to take on, but I\u2019m glad we did it. I don\u2019t feel like I was quite prepared, but we made it work,\u201d Schlenk said. \u201cIt took a little longer than anticipated, but we\u2019re up and rolling now. I\u2019ve got a little bit of money in the bank, we\u2019ve finally got our heads above water, so I think from here on out it\u2019s going to be smooth sailing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, his schedule might be uncertain, but at least he\u2019s racing a little bit for now. Schlenk takes part in Eldora Speedway\u2019s Dirt Late Model Stream Invitational<\/em> for the DIRTcar Late Models this weekend, and has never come into the facility with more confidence than he has right now.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cars are working good. This is the best I\u2019ve ever ran in my life. I feel we\u2019ve got a car that I can go anywhere in the country with at this point and be competitive. That\u2019s kinda what I\u2019ve been missing over the last couple years,\u201d Schlenk said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CONCORD, NC \u2013 June 5, 2020 \u2013\u00a0For something he designed with his crew chief in a pole barn behind his house, Rusty Schlenk sure has been making a statement with the newly designed Domination Race Car lately. Three racetracks visited over the last three weekends; three trips to DIRTcar Victory Lane. \u201cThese cars, by far, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":32350,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,576],"tags":[210,633],"division":[],"series":[],"regions":[],"class_list":["post-32347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-late-models","category-news","tag-featured","tag-rusty-schlenk"],"yoast_head":"\nDOMINATION NATION: Streaking Schlenk Finds Hot 2020 Start Aboard New Chassis - DIRTcar Racing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dirtcar.com\/divisions\/late-models\/domination-nation-streaking-schlenk-finds-hot-2020-start-aboard-new-chassis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DOMINATION NATION: Streaking Schlenk Finds Hot 2020 Start Aboard New Chassis - DIRTcar Racing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CONCORD, NC \u2013 June 5, 2020 \u2013\u00a0For something he designed with his crew chief in a pole barn behind his house, Rusty Schlenk sure has been making a statement with the newly designed Domination Race Car lately. 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